The first two Raptors playoff games against Cleveland already served as an impressive showcase for Collin Murray-Boyles. However, they didn't quite have the cherry on top, which would have been Toronto winning those two games. Still, CMB's dominant breakout in this Cavs series has solidified his position in the rotation. It has even sparked wide debates about taking that coveted starting role away from the struggling Jakob Poeltl.
To think we are talking about a 20-year-old rookie here: this is about as good of a first-year outcome as you could ask for.
Murray-Boyles scored 14 points on great efficiency, along with four assists and four rebounds in Game 1. He followed that up with 17 points and seven rebounds in Game 2, and things only improved in Game 3. The Raptors were able to come out on top (126-104) with a lot of momentum in the aftermath, and Collin Murray-Boyles was undoubtedly a huge part of that.
In Game 3, CMB dropped 22 points on an impressive 11-for-15 shooting. He also contributed eight rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal. While the entire Game 3 showcase was a proving ground for Murray-Boyles, the block he secured (a late third-quarter denial of Cavs center Jarrett Allen at the rim), might have been his biggest highlight of the night.
Collin Murray-Boyles is bringing his unorthodox rookie flair in Raptors playoffs
COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES SAID NOT IN MY HOUSE 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/E1xD3Frs6E
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) April 24, 2026
His 22-point performance sets a new Raptors franchise record for most points scored by a rookie in the postseason. Another historic highlight of this performance is that Murray-Boyles joins legends Magic Johnson and Tony Parker as the only players under 21 to score 20 or more points while shooting at least 70 percent from the field in a playoff game.
To put things into perspective, through this three-game postseason sample, Collin Murray-Boyles is averaging 17.7 points (which is the third-highest on the team) and 6.3 rebounds (the second-highest on the team).
It has been said before and I will say it again: Collin Murray-Boyles, despite jumping out at analysts and fans' radars in initial scouting reports, nobody could have predicted he would be this good, this impactful, and this much of a ceiling raiser in just his first year. Toronto clearly saw something in him that eight other teams in the 2025 NBA Draft did not, and now they have the right to boast his talents.
His regular season sample was already a highlight in itself, but here in the playoffs, where nerves and the increased intensity can sometimes catch up to players, he has not let it be a hindrance at all. You really can't argue against three straight impressive performances, especially in the postseason. That clearly shows Collin Murray-Boyles has once again proven to be an outlier, demonstrating a maturity, poise, and mindset that surpasses his rookie status in the NBA.
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